Digital Storytelling and Social Media for Sustainable Destinations, a presentation given at the ESTC destination workshop on the topics of storytelling, social media and how destinations can market their sustainability.

1. Digital Storytelling and Social
Media for Sustainable Destinations
Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott, Uncornered Market
UncorneredMarket.com
@UMarket
facebook.com/UncorneredMarket

3. Roadmap
! Storytelling: philosophy and
approach
! Business case for storytelling
! Storytelling for sustainability
! Social media, storytelling and
engagement

4. What Business Are We In?
! Travel business?
! Experience business?
! Inspiration business?
! Differentiation business?

5. Storytelling: A Timeless Method

6. Storytelling: What it is NOT
! A bullet list of sites, activites, or amenities
! A mass distribution press release
! A bunch of statistics
! A chronological list
! Fiction, making things up

8. Storytelling: What it is
! Show, don’t tell
! Demonstrating, not declaring
! Characters, conflict
! Feeling, emotional connection
! Multi-dimensional, multiple senses
! Communicates not only what, but
how and why

9. Backdrop: Too many messages
Too
many
messages…!
! Prospect, 6000 messages. Japan photo
Your
average
prospec-ve
customer
is
enduring
more
than
6000
adver-sing
messages
every
day

10. Storytelling: Why?
! Information is processed more efficiently when in story
! Cuts through noise, helps customers retain message
! Delivers depth of impression
! Differentiator, not a commodity
! Goals:
! Plant the seed
! Change minds
! Story  Trust  Believe  Take action

11. *Digital* Storytelling
! More people are researching travel online
! Two-way communication, not broadcasting
! Multi-media, multi-platform
! Immediate (real-time) + connect + long shelf life

12. Storytelling Agents
! You can tell your own story…
! Or, you can enlist the help of agents
! Writers / content providers
! Customers
! Travel bloggers
! Or all of the above

13. CASE STUDY: JORDAN
! Problem: Travelers canceling trips due to safety concerns in region
! Goals: Increase awareness of Jordan & publicize Jordan’s safety in
midst of Middle East
! How: Bloggers as storytellers, social media campaigns

14. Awareness of Sustainable Tourism
! Bad news: Not everyone knows about what
sustainable tourism is, how it is different
and why it matters.
! Good news: Not everyone knows about
what sustainable tourism is, how it is
different and why it matters.

15. Greenwashing
! Challenge: Convince the skeptics
! Opportunity: Show them. Transparency is
king
! Upshot: Good storytelling can be the
ultimate greenwashing-killer.

16. Storytelling for Sustainable Tourism
! Educate on three pillars & why they matter:
! Environment
! Cultural Heritage
! Economy
! Show why travelers benefit from choosing sustainable
tourism: expeirence amplifier + feel good
! Travelers/stakeholders become part of the story, part of
solution.

17. Show, Don’t Tell
! Who is affected? And how?
! What is being done?
! Why is it important? (Is the community benefiting?)
! How can this impact a traveler’s experience?

18. What’s Your Story?

19. How do you use social media?
! Distributing information
! Answering questions/customer service
! Curation of relevant articles
! Social engagement
! All of the above?

20. Why use social media?

21. Social Media Basics
! 83% trust family & friends for advice, 33% trust social
networks
! It’s social. Personal. Human to human.
! Not a place for one-way broadcasting.
! Not just about numbers, but about engagement.
! Visuals are king.
! Develops brand loyalty.

22. Ask Customers to Tell Your Story
! Why: People trust people
! Make it easy.
! Make it fun.
! Make it interactive.
! Make customers part of
your story.

23. Maximizing Use of Social Media Content

24. GSTC Stories - Members

25. GSTC Stories – Early Adopter

26. Upshot & Take-aways
! Story is a differentiator, go beyond the lists
! We are in the experience business
! Build depth of impression
! Partner with storytelling agents
! Build content with multiple lives
! Tools: Stand-bys + new,
Instagram and Pinterest
! This is a human exercise
! Have fun!

27. Thank you

28. Stay in touch!
Let’s continue the conversation. Connect with us on:
! UncorneredMarket.com
! Twitter: @Umarket
! Facebook: /UncorneredMarket